Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

Procol Harum's NME
coverage ...

15, 22 + 29 August; 5 +
26 September 1970

These excerpts from New Musical Express,
kindly selected for 'Beyond the Pale' by Yan Friis, show Procol
Harum continuing to haunt the US album chart, against stiff
competition, and being well-received at the UK's Isle of Wight
pop festival.

NME August 15, 1970

Front page: Full page ad for The Moody Blues' A Question Of
Balance (Threshold)

HeadlinesJimmy Ruffin wants to record British singer hereby Roy Carr

JOHNNY JOHNSON REHEARSES IN ROOM OF MIRRORSby Gillian Saich

SMOKEY AND MIRACLES USED TO RECORD TWO SONGS IN THREE HOURSby Alan Smith

Ann Moses in Hollywood(excerpt)

Procul Harum [sic] and Blodwyn
Pig were the guests of honour at a super beach-party-outdoor-dinner-reception
at the seashore home of their publicist last week. I spoke with Gary
Brooker, who seemed to be delighted with the sunny afternoon
and the turnout for their shindig. He told me:

'The concerts this trip have been spectacular! At a big one in
Maryland, the place was sold out and there was an equal number of
people outside who tried to bash down fences to see us! It was
amazing!'

(There's also some quotes from Jack Lancaster of
Blodwyn Pig):

'The response has been greater to our playing this time round.
And many places, the audiences come to see the main act on the
bill, like Jethro Tull or Procul Harum [sic], but they've been great this time
since we've been playing more things from our second album on
stage.'

Both groups planned to return to London following an
appearance at the Fillmore East last week.

(excerpt)
... An even more exciting direction would be into the classics.
It is already happening, but as yet, it isn't receiving the rave
notices accorded to the horn bands. For me, the Procol Harum
album, Home, contains much more imagination than any of
the current horn albums. So too do the Moody Blues, and
Spain's Miguel Rios, with his precedent-setting Song Of
Joy.

The moral is that you can't build a rock group around horns -
the horns must be built around the rock. Only then can the
feeling still be there.

Procol Harum burst onto the scene in May 1967, with a
beautifully constructed song titled A Whiter Shade Of Pale
which established the group as a force to be reckoned with. Now,
as then, the group's writing is done by pianist / vocalist Gary
Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid.

Though without a hit of late, Harum is very highly regarded by
public and musicians alike and is very big in America where the
latest album, Home, received rave reviews. It has even
been said that the group influenced the Band.

The remaining members of Procol Harum are BJ Wilson (drums),
Chris Copping (bass and organ) and Robin Trower (lead guitar).

YES, THERE WAS MUSIC TOO!
At last, a report of the performances!by Andy Gray, Richard Green & Roy Carr

(excerpt)
While the National press vied with each other to give readers
more and more sensational stories about the Isle of Wight '70
Festival, concerning drugs, battles on Devastation Hill, nude
bathing, babies on the site, losses by the promoters, vast sums
paid to artists, lack of security, too much security, French-Algerian
rebels joining with Hell's Angels, and a lot more jazz generally
running down the Festival that had helped them with Press
facilities, NME writers were listening to the music to
bring you this report...

FRIDAY
TASTE, HARUM, FAMILY HITS AT WIGHT... The hour was late, the air very chilled and the front-stage
area, over-crowded with gatecrashing Frenchmen, when a rather
strident Procol Harum proved that their overlong absence
from the local scene hasn't in any way dimmed their appeal.

They were magnificent, no matter what they played ... be it
such down-homey originals as Wishing Well [sic], the extreme soberness [sic] of Salty Dog or their
surprising finale of good old rock and roll.

Down The Line, High School Confidential and Lucille
had Gary Brooker pounding out the familiar piano lines
and screamin' out those immortal lyrics...

Headlines:

NMExclusive from Malmo, Sweden
NOW IT'S STONES PLUS THREE
Mick Jagger uses secret concert to try-out new group line-upby Lars

THERE'S ONLY ONE THING WRONG WITH MARMALADE...
...and that's the name!by Alan Smith

Front page: Full page ad for Melanie 45 What Have They Done
To My Song, Ma? / Ruby Tuesday (Buddah)

Headlines:GOODBYE, JIMI
ABOUT THE HENDRIX WE HAVE LOSTby Richard Green

DESMOND DEKKER IS TO REVEAL HIS TWO SIDES ON DOUBLE LPby Roy Carr

INVICTUS LABEL (No. 1 and 2 in NME
Charts) BECOME A RIVAL OF MOTOWNby Andy Gray

Engelbert storms at people who madden him!by Alan Smith

TREMS HAPPY ABOUT HITS MISSED!by Alan Smith

TASTE'S RORY HAS AN ENORMOUS FOLLOWING
but insists it's a three-man effortby Richard Green

Tipped for charts by Derek JohnsonRoger Whittaker, New World In The Morning
Julie Felix, Heaven Is Here

NME Top 5
1. ( 4) Band Of Gold, Freda Payne
2. ( 2) Give Me Just A Little More Time, Chairmen Of The
Board
3. ( 1) Tears Of A Clown, Smokey Robinson & The
Miracles
4. (11) You Can Get It If You Really Want, Desmond Dekker
5. ( 3) Mama Told Me (Not To Come), Three Dog Night

News pages:... Freedom, the trio formed by ex-Procol Harum
drummer Bobby Harrison, flies to America on November 26
for 16 days of concerts, TV and promotional appearances to tie in
with the release of its first album ...

The Mammoth Task: Yan's
extracts from the first 52 weeks of Procol press in the NME